For the ride and powerful voodoo

Barclays bike fail

Going out for drinks after work, I decided to try out a Barclays / Borris bike so I didn’t have to lug the Brompton around pubs.

Picking up from Waterloo was fine and it rode nicely to my office near Westminster. It was slow yes, and the only people I could pass were fixies (how does being on a fixie help you go through red lights anyway?) but it was fun.

I decided to use my £1 to travel the 1000m to my favorite sandwich spot. All fine, apart from not understanding the system and being stuck in roadworks.

Then the trouble started. Sandwich in hand, I tried to get another bike to go back and was informed “you need to wait 5 minutes between hires” (and they mean the end of the hire, not the start as I vainly hoped). The walk is only 10 minutes, so after a few tries I gave up.

Post after work celebrations, I tried to get a bike to head back to Waterloo. After doing the necessary, the machine failed to give me a code and then told me it couldn’t deal with me anymore after inserting my card again. Again after a few tries and without much time in hand, I hoofed it to Waterloo, just in time to catch the train.

All in all, if I need reliable transport in the capital, I shall take the trusty folder (turned out there would have been plenty of space for it anyway and the lights are better).